From the Set

Stephanie Frame brought in candidates to interview, chased election results, floor directed, and even found time to bring back milkshakes to the crew.

Behind the Camera 2

The last time we saw volunteer Chris Richmond he was suspended in a bucket truck over Highway 40 helping us broadcast the Richmond Bicentennial Parade. I think he's finally forgiven us.

In the Crossfire

Joe and Paul talk politics with candidate Mike Statzer.

CG POV

A shot from John Schuerman's camera of the control room action.

More from the Control Room

John Schuerman captures me in all of my open-mouthed confusion during the waning hours of a long night of live election coverage.

Democracy in Action

Another great night of broadcasting ends. Thanks to everyone who has told me since how much they enjoyed our expanded election night coverage.

"Community Benefits" Live TV Auction

The Second Annual “Community Benefits” Live Television Auction will be held Friday, December 8 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on WCTV Channel 21. Whitewater Community Television is again partnering with the Richmond/Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) at Indiana University East to produce the Auction. Watch Channel 21 in the coming weeks for more information and to see items up for bid that evening.

Businesses who wish to donate items for the Auction will receive on-air credit before and during the Auction. Contact 973-8488 for more information.

September 2006 Board Minutes

Call to Order - 11:00 a.m. by Vice-President Mark Linderman.

Present: Willard Brown, Daryl Greene, Ed Hoffman, Mark Linderman, Jerome Mahaffey, Eric Marsh, Barb Mayberry, Sharon Palmer, Jeff Plasterer, Billy Porch, Phil Quinn and Stephanie Strait. Staff: John Dalton and Diane Lucas.

Approval of Minutes
The Board unanimously accepted the minutes of the August 8, 2006 meeting.

Treasurer’s Report
Jeff Plasterer went over the financial report dated July 31, 2006. The interest income continues to exceed expectations; everything else is on target. Jeff Plasterer moved to accept the financial report with Ed Hoffman giving the second, and the motion passed unanimously.

Director’s Report
The Lottery went very well and we have only five open hours in our schedule. The picnic following the Lottery was a success, with Kroger and Richmond Baking Company donating food. The American Legion cooked hot dogs and James “Iceman” Patterson served as DJ.
WCTV successfully aired its first live parade, using three cameras and a bucket truck from RPL. RPL also underwrote the event.
We also did our first high school football game, Centerville vs Lincoln. John Dalton said he had around a dozen emails with positive comments awaiting him the following morning. The next game will most likely be Hagerstown vs Centerville. RHS said “no” to our taping their homecoming game.
Regarding the question of going to a “once a year” lottery, the response ran 2 to 1 in favor of once a year. About a dozen people responded to our mailing. Phil Quinn moved to table the issue, giving time for further investigation.
WCTV’s “Boot Camp” will be taught through the Extended Learning Department of IU East.
John again circulated the list of previous members and talking points, hoping that the board might know someone on the list and be able to encourage renewal of membership.
WCTV is working on a DVD to send to the top businesses in our area.

Old Business
The fundraising committee met, and Phil Quinn talked about a potential dart tourney. The committee will meet again to discuss particulars. Phil Quinn suggested that we might push the dart tournament to the spring.
John Dalton noted that an auction could be much improved from the last one. The Chamber of Commerce would secure donations and Tim Scales class would help with the telephones and more. A potential date would be in December. Daryl Greene moved to endorse the auction with Ed Hoffman giving the second. The motion was approved.
The Controversial Programming guidelines have been updated and will be finalized at next month’s exec meeting.

New Business
Ed Hoffman encouraged board members to become more “hands-on” in the studio.

Good of the Order
John Dalton thanked everyone for their help with the picnic, lottery and football game recently.

Adjournment - 12:05 p.m.

Friday Night Lights, Part 1

Director Stephanie Frame gets ready for the kickoff at the Hagerstown vs. Centerville game Friday night.

Spaghetti Junction

It takes a lot of cable to put on a football game, as seen here. We set up in a garage behind the stadium to stay out of the elements. Our camera people on the roof of the press box weren't so lucky.

Play By Play

Caleb Walters and A.J. Alexander call the shots from the press box, with floor director Sarah looking on.

From the Booth

It was Caleb's birthday, and what better way to celebrate than calling a close football game?

Friday Night Lights, Part 2

The view from outside the pressbox, with our banner flying proudly and our camera people shivering.

Friday Night Lights, Part 3

Lindsey follows the action from atop the press box.

Sky Cam

Sam monitors the other camera from her vantage point on the roof of the press box.

On the 50

Tyler got some great hand-held shots from the field to complement the action.

H-town Crew

Most of our crew was made up of students from Mr. Curry's A/V class at Hagerstown High School. Here are Shelby, William, Tyler, our intern Jonathan (from Centerville High School) and Sam rallying up for further instructions at halftime. The hometown team went on to win in an exciting photo finish.

WCTV in the News!

I thought you might enjoy these recent stories about WCTV in the local news:

http://www.palitem.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060928/NEWS02/609280341/1004

http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060924/NEWS01/609240324&SearchID=73257945783367

WCTV Bootcamp!

I get a lot of questions about offering workshops at WCTV, so I am happy to announce that we have partnered with the Indiana University East Continuing Education Center to offer training and coursework. Below is some information on upcoming classes:

Scriptwriting
This course will be covering all aspects of
scriptwriting from the ground up, including
writing corporate and instructional videos all
the way to developing feature films.
Fee: $40
Richmond 2 Wed., Oct. 4 & 11, 6-9 pm
Registration deadline: Sept. 27

Videography
This course begins with the fundamentals
of videography, and builds on knowledge to
include basic studio camera as well as
more advanced ideas of field videography,
with lighting and audio schemes presented.
Fee: $40
Richmond 2 Wed., Oct. 18 & 25, 6-9 pm
Registration deadline: Oct. 11

Editing with iMovie
Even if you don’t use iMovie, this course will
introduce you to the basic ideas of nonlinear
editing on computer platforms.
Students can use camera tape shot during
the Videography course; otherwise stock
footage will be provided for practice by WCTV.
Fee: $90
Richmond 3 Mon., Oct. 30-Nov. 13, 6-9 pm
Registration deadline: Oct. 23

Finalizing Projects with Final Cut Pro
Computer editing training on Final Cut suite
will be offered to those who complete Editing
with iMovie as a prerequisite. Students in this
course will be working towards completing
content to be used on WCTV, including PSAs,
station IDs, and other production elements.
Fee: $90
Richmond 3 Mon., Nov. 27-Dec. 11, 6-9 pm
Registration deadline: Nov. 20

Enroll in the series for only $220! Participants who successful complete all four classes will receive a one year membership to WCTV and be certified to use the WCTV facility. You can get additional information on how to register for classes by calling the IU East Continuing Education Center at 973-8203.

August 2006 Board Minutes

Call to Order - 11:10 a.m. by Vice-President Mark Linderman.

Present: Willard Brown, Daryl Greene, Ed Hoffman, Mark Linderman, Eric Marsh, Barb Mayberry, Sharon Palmer, Jeff Plasterer, Kim Poinsett, and Phil Quinn. Staff: John Dalton, Stephanie Frame, Diane Lucas, and John Schuerman.

Approval of Minutes
The Board accepted the minutes of the July 11, 2006 meeting. Jeff Plasterer moved to accept the minutes with Ed Hoffman giving the second.

Treasurer’s Report
Jeff Plasterer went over the financial report dated June 30, 2006. The interest income continues to exceed expectations; everything else is on target. Ed Hoffman moved to accept the financial report with Phil Quinn giving the second, and the motion passed unanimously.

Director’s Report
John Dalton pointed out that our Channel 21 Lottery will be August 14 at 4 p.m., and a picnic will follow at 5 p.m. The picnic will include hot dogs and more, with James “Iceman” Patterson as DJ.
Richmond’s Bicentennial event is fast approaching. WCTV will provide a live telecast of the parade on August 20th. We plan to use three cameras and an RPL bucket truck. Immediately after the parade, WCTV will go to the football stadium to do a live broadcast of the closing event, the county-wide high school band performance. We will also tape the Mayor’s breakfast and opening ceremonies for broadcast. WCTV will air footage of the 150th Year Celebration parade, as well as some episodes of “Richmond in Motion,” in support of the Bicentennial.
Tim Elstro has found some replacement parts for our damaged satellite dish and will be working on getting those installed. The Dish-TV dish is up and running, airing various programs.
WCTV is now an affiliate of the University Channel. This service allows for the downloading of public lectures, mostly consisting of nationally known speakers from major universities. We are also finalizing an arrangement to air “Inside Indiana Business” from WFYI, which will run on Tuesday evenings.
WCTV’s “Boot Camp” will be taught through the Extended Learning Department of IU East.
We are looking at a “slate” of five football games for the fall and are working with area schools. When the schedule is finalized we will be looking for sponsorships.
We will have two interns from Centerville High School this fall.
John and Kim Poinsett met with staff from Civic Theater and they are very interested in participating in the Reading Service, seen on Friday nights. There is hope that this service might be able to generate some grant money. Daryl Greene suggested that we contact the Independent Living Center to inform them of our Reading Service program.
John is working with Ken Paust on a post card for a future mailing regarding memberships.
John presented a page of “talking points” for use when discussing WCTV in the community and looking for fundraising opportunities.

Old Business
The Controversial Programming guidelines have been updated and will be finalized at next month’s meeting.

New Business
Ed Hoffman mentioned the S.O.S. Jamboree with Charlie Estes and the Slicks, which will be on Friday, August 11th, and will be taped for replay on WCTV at a later time.

Good of the Order
Ed Hoffman has been recognized as an “Older Hoosier of the Year” for his volunteer work at WCTV and will attend a picnic and a dinner.

Adjournment - 12:05 p.m.

Wayne County Football!

When I came to WCTV one of the first things I heard from viewers was that they wanted to see local high school sports. And we listened—this weekend WCTV will be showing our first high school football game, Centerville vs. Cambridge City Lincoln, with our professional staff working in cooperation with the A/V classes at Centerville and Richmond High Schools. I hope you like what you see.

You can catch Centerville vs. Lincoln Saturday at 7 p.m. and midnight and Sunday at 5 a.m., 9 a.m., Noon, and 3 p.m.

We are planning more local high school sports from WCTV, so stay tuned!

At the Mics

Hosts Caleb Walters and Christina Vaughn get ready to go live for the broadcast of Richmond's Bicentennial Parade. This broadcast was a historic event for WCTV as well as for the City of Richmond. It was a great day for a parade.

At the Mics #2

Caleb and Christina, ready for their close-up.

It Takes A Village

Some of our crew getting set up. In the foreground is Volunteer of the Year Barry Barker, in the background board member and long-time volunteer Ed Hoffman. It takes a lot of people to put on this kind of live event.

Camera Jockeys

Centerville High School students Jon and Bruce ready to go. This camera would be hand-held during most of the parade. Jon is interning with us this fall and Bruce will be at the station in the spring.

Spence on Headset

John Schuerman's son Spencer, the next generation of WCTV talent at work.

Eye in the Sky

The good people at Richmond Power and Light sponsored the live broadcast of the Bicentennial Parade, as well as donated the bucket truck and a person to run it. Surprisingly, there were more people willing to go up in it than I thought. We got fantastic coverage from this camera.

Skycam

Earlham student Chris Richmond high above the parade route, giving us great shots. We told him he couldn't come down until he paid his student membership dues to WCTV.

Skycam #2

John Schuerman snapped this photo, showing some of his cabling handiwork; note the stereo microphones used to record the Parade for the DVD, available for purchase here at WCTV.

At the Switcher

John Schuerman calling the shots from our remote truck. Yes, John did hit his head on the roof. I got stung on the elbow by a hornet. Live TV isn't always as glamorous as you would think.

WCTV Summer Picnic #1

Board members Eric Marsh and Phil Quinn, with his manager, enjoying dinner. The rain did not keep people away from the cookout, thankfully, as we had a good spread set out.

Iceman in the Groove

James "the Iceman" Patterson, producer of our 2005 Program of the Year, spins the discs at the Summer Picnic.

Waketha on the Scene

WCTV producers and friends enjoying the music.

Endless Love

What's a WCTV party without a shot of me staring at a cake? Another historic moment captured by Diane Lucas.

The Dinner Bell

My family always conveniently drops by the office when there is free food, and the summer picnic was no exception! We had help from the American Legion Auxilary, Kroger, and the Richmond Baking Company to put on this event.

July 2006 Board Minutes

Call to Order - 11:10 a.m. by President Kim Poinsett.

Present: Willard Brown, Dave Burns, Ed Hoffman, Mark Linderman, Jerome Mahaffey, Sharon Palmer, Jeff Plasterer, Kim Poinsett and Stephanie Strait. Staff: John Dalton, Stephanie Frame, Diane Lucas, and John Schuerman.

Approval of Minutes
The Board accepted the minutes of the June 13, 2006 meeting. Dave Burns moved to accept the minutes with Ed Hoffman giving the second, minutes passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
Jeff Plasterer went over the financial report dated May 31, 2006. He noted that there have been no fundraising funds coming in thus far. He also pointed out that the interest income has increased, and surpassed expectations. He called for the board to become more involved with fundraising. John Dalton noted that there is a DVD demo being developed to promote corporate services. This DVD will be used to show potential customers a sample of some of our past productions. Several fundraising ideas were discussed. Willard Brown moved to accept the financial report with Ed Hoffman giving the second and the motion passed unanimously.

Director’s Report
John Dalton reported that we did another mailing regarding membership renewal, and included membership information in the lottery letter. Junior Achievement is joining at the $1,000 membership level to produce their Hall of Fame video.
John noted that the lottery is coming up on August 14 with a cookout to follow. James Patterson (Iceman) will be the DJ. We are seeking some underwriters for food and supplies.
Our satellite dish has been repaired but is essentially obsolete. The dish will need to be replaced at some point. Options are still evolving. The DISH-TV dish will be used for some programming also.
WCTV’s Reading Service has begun and we have already received some positive feedback. In the next segment, Jean Harper will be reading from her book about Richmond.
John Dalton has had several visiting and speaking opportunities recently. He spoke at the Chamber of Commerce, attended an Earlham meeting for “not-for-profits,” and will judge the Philo awards.
Dave Burns raised the question of whether the lottery might be more appealing if it were held only once a year vs. two times a year. John Dalton will draft a letter to send to producers and members soliciting their opinions regarding the timing of the lottery.

Old Business
Controversial programming will be tabled until the next meeting.
Capital equipment expenditures were approved for four JVC decks and two Leightronix interfaces. Jeff Plasterer moved to approve with Dave Burns giving the second. The motion carried unanimously.

New Business
Dave Burns mentioned that he is seeing virtual commercials on PBS. He suggested looking into the potential for “underwriting commercials.”

Good of the Order
Ed Hoffman has been recognized as an “Older Hoosier of the Year” for his volunteer work at WCTV and will attend a picnic and a dinner.

Adjournment - 12:35 p.m.

Channel 21 Lottery Changes?

The WCTV Board of Directors is considering a change to the Channel 21 Lottery process that would move the Lottery from twice a year to once a year, held in August to more closely coincide with the traditional broadcasting “season.” Reasons for this include allowing producers to be able to advertise their programs more effectively, and their viewers to find their programs more easily.

Before the Board makes a final decision, they would like to hear your feedback. Feel free to contact me with your comments, questions, or concerns at 973-8488, or jodalton@indiana.edu.

We hope you join us for the Channel 21 Lottery Monday, August 14 at 4 p.m. and stay for our Summer Picnic afterwards, to be held at the WCTV studio in Hayes Hall on the IU East campus.

WCTV Summer Picnic!

I invite you to join WCTV for our Summer Picnic on Monday August 14 at the WCTV studio, immediately following the Channel 21 Program Lottery at 4 p.m. If you haven’t been to WCTV in a while, you’ll get the chance to tour the facilities as well as see previews of some of this fall’s new programming.

We are located in Hayes Hall on the IU East campus.

We would like to thank the American Legion Post 65 Auxiliary, Kroger, and the Richmond Baking Company for their support of this event.

Dateline: Mumbai

Here's a nice write-up in the local paper about "In Your Business," a program on WCTV produced by Tim Scales:

http://www.palitem.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060717/NEWS01/607170306/1008

Tim is producing a new show for the fall season while in India this summer!

June 2006 Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by President Kim Poinsett.

Present: Willard Brown, Dave Burns, Ed Hoffman, Daryl Greene, Mark Linderman, Barb Mayberry, Sharon Palmer, Ken Paust, Jeff Plasterer, Kim Poinsett and Stephanie Strait. Staff: John Dalton, Stephanie Frame, Diane Lucas, and John Schuerman. Guest: John Zetzl of Gillam & Zetzl, Inc.

Approval of Minutes
The Board accepted the minutes of the May 9, 2006 meeting. Jeff Plasterer moved to accept the minutes with Ed Hoffman giving the second, minutes passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
John Zetzl, of Gillam & Zetzl, Inc., presented our audit report. John indicated that WCTV’s finances were “clean” and well within accepted accounting principles. WCTV’s cash is $23,000 up from the previous year. WCTV has $165,220.00 total net assets. John presented an informal management letter containing helpful suggestions. After his presentation, John Zetzl received a round of applause.
Jeff Plasterer went over the financial report of April 30, 2006. He indicated that the finances are pretty much on track as anticipated. Ken Paust inquired about the return on the membership drive. The drive has approximately a 10% return at this time. There was discussion as to some kind of follow-up measure. Ed Hoffman moved to accept the financial report with Ken Paust giving the second, and the motion passed unanimously.

Director’s Report
John Dalton reported that our satellite dish is broken, preventing us from showing Classic Arts. Tim Elstro evaluated the problem and ordered a part.
John noted that Indianapolis is currently renegotiating their public access franchise with Bright House before the start of Indiana’s new Telecom law and is watching this process closely. John has been having difficulty communicating with Insight about their plans, possibly due to the fact that they do not currently have a local director at Insight.
Some board members have stated that Verizon is reportedly testing the Richmond market for interest in potential future Verizon cable service in the area.
Chris Richmond, an Earlham student, is working on a project for SIFE and WCTV is administering the Lily Grant funds for this project.
The staff of WCTV has been approved to teach classes through Extended Learning at IU East. They will also be helping on a student film festival to be held in conjunction with the Richmond Art Museum in the spring and partially funded through a grant. Work is underway on a project with Wernle Home, teaching students camera and editing skills, as is a project working with an A/V Club at the Boys & Girls Club.
WCTV recently purchased two new cameras, with a sponsorship from First Bank, doubling the number of cameras for checkout. John reported that soon, with the capital equipment money from Insight, there will be double the number of editing computers available for members as well.

Old Business
John Dalton distributed material showing WCTV’s policies on controversial programming. This material will be reevaluated in a future executive board meeting.

Good of the Order
Dave Burns pointed out the improvement in quality and thanked the staff of WCTV. John Dalton thanked everyone for the well wishes during his recent illness. Daryl Greene is pleased to see the new members present.


Adjournment - 12:35 by President Kim Poinsett.

August Lottery Information

Here is the information pertaining to the next lottery drawing for programming on WCTV Channel 21. This lottery will take place August 14 at 4 p.m. in the studio of WCTV.

Feel free to join us afterwards for a cookout celebrating the start of WCTV’s new schedule and slate of programming.

The new schedule will begin the week of September 3, 2006.




CHANNEL 21 PROGRAM LOTTERY INFORMATION

Tier One Program Drawing

Reserved only for local producers whose programs take place physically, and are recorded within, Wayne County, Indiana.

Maximum program length is one hour. One program maximum per week in this tier.

Programming days include Saturday through Thursday (WCTV’s programming equipment will not support more than six sequential days of programming per week).

Producer may supply one new program per week, and shall supply at least one fresh program at least every two weeks, to maintain tier one status. Producer shall deliver program to WCTV studios at least one business day before program plays on Channel 21.

Tier One programs will be placed first. Tier One may be expanded at the expense of Tier Two as new local producers qualify for Tier One. Tier One programs always take precedent. As of this drawing, as we maintain one hour maximum per program, there are sufficient hours available to handle historic numbers of programs. However, Tier Two programs are subject to be moved or discontinued if demand for Tier One programming expands to the point that the only way to accommodate Tier One programmers is to shrink Tier Two time, accordingly. Any cancellation may be based on last in, first out. Cancelled programs may be entered in the next lottery.

All assigned hours in Tier One are subject to the luck of the draw. Since programs are either ½ hour or one hour in length, the presiding WCTV lottery official may assign the drawn program to the next practical and available time slot, later or earlier, as applicable.

This drawing will be effective starting September 3, 2006, and programs in Tier One will normally be scheduled for a total of three run times per week, as practical. Original cablecast and repeats are typically at eight hour intervals.

Any program qualifying for Tier One which becomes a part of WCTV programming after the lottery may be placed in any time available until the next lottery drawing.

Tier One programmers -- please check the appropriate box on the return form if you would prefer that your program appears regularly on Sunday. The first random drawing will be for Sunday-preferred time slots in the eight hours between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. until all preferred Sunday hours availabilities are filled. Then, Saturday through Thursday time slots will be randomly drawn and placed in late afternoon and evening hours, as available. In the event that any Sunday hours remain after the Sunday-preferred drawing, they will be drawn for last of all, if it is necessary to accommodate any remaining producers.

Tier Two Program Drawing

Reserved only for programs that take place physically, and are recorded, outside Wayne County, Indiana.

Maximum program length is one hour. Two programs maximum per week, as time may be available. Must have a different local sponsor for each program.

Programming days may include Saturday through Thursday.

All times, repeats, and placements in Tier Two are at the discretion of the Program Director. Original program cablecast and repeats typically are at eight hour intervals for a total of two to three run times per week, as practical.

Producer may supply one new program per week, per time slot, and shall supply at least one fresh program per time slot at least every two weeks to maintain Tier Two status.

Producer shall deliver program to WCTV studios at least one business day before program plays on Channel 21.


Other Information

After its cablecast, any program that is judged to have technical problems may be pulled from programming rotation. Possible problems include very low or no audio levels, video images which have tracking problems or static, video images that are too dark or out of focus, and/or other technical problems. The Program Director may suspend the program and future episodes of the program from further cable casting until technical problems are resolved. Please spot check your program before you bring it in to avoid any problems.

WCTV accepts VHS, S-VHS, DVD, and MiniDV.

Our Blogging Producers

Check out some of our WCTV producers blogging on the web:

In Your Business

G-TV

Dickson/Chappell Report

Did I miss your blog? Send me a link at jodalton@indiana.edu.

Indianapolis Public Access Issues

After a ten-year span, our state capital is perhaps on the verge of having cable access again. Here are some recent articles about it, for those interested:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060614/OPINION/606140374/1002

http://www.nuvo.net/article.php?title=no_cable_contract_is_good_news_for_indy

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060612/NEWS01/606120365/-1/ARCHIVE

Feel free to write me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

May 2006 Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by President Kim Poinsett.
Members and staff introduced themselves.

Present: Willard Brown, Dave Burns, Mark Linderman, Jerome Mahaffey, Eric Marsh, Barb Mayberry, Sharon Palmer, Kim Poinsett, Billy Porch, Phil Quinn, and Stephanie Strait. Staff: John Dalton, Stephanie Frame, Diane Lucas, and John Schuerman.

Approval of Minutes
Dave Burns moved to accept the minutes of the April meeting with Willard Brown giving the second, minutes passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
John Dalton discussed the Friends campaign monies, the First Bank equipment sponsorship, and other items on the report. He reported that Gillam & Zetzl would be at the June meeting to report on the audit. Eric Marsh moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented with Mark Linderman giving the second, report passed unanimously.

Director’s Report
Dalton updated the board on the Indiana Telecom Bill that recently passed as well as the potential federal legislation on the horizon. He reported on the success of the statewide Access Center Director’s meeting held at WCTV, as well as meetings with IACT and the Telecom Council. He reported that Insight was scheduled to attend the next Telecom Council meeting.
Dalton reported on the positive feedback garnered from WCTV’s live election night coverage as well as highlighted other events in a busy spring production schedule, including IU East and Ivy Tech graduations and other live events.
Dalton reported that he and Kim Poinsett would try to schedule new board member orientation before the next meeting.
Dalton stated that he had been asked by the Wayne County Commissioners to present a request for funds for 2007.

Old Business
Dalton returned to the board with more information about becoming an affiliate of Free Speech Television, in which FSTV would offer a free Dish Network dish and a year’s subscription in exchange for running their news program, “Democracy Now,” five nights a week. This program would be sponsored by Paul Kreise and the American Democracy Project at IU East, who had previously talked to WCTV about running the program. Dalton believes this dish can be used as a stopgap for other programming until a more permanent replacement for the aging current dish can be secured. Phil Quinn made a motion to accept this proposal as presented with Dave Burns giving the second. The motion passed by majority, with one opposed.
New Business
Kim Poinsett presented a slate of officers for 2006-2007:

Kim Poinsett, President
Mark Linderman, Vice President
Willard Brown, Secretary
Jeff Plasterer, Treasurer

This slate was accepted as presented by a motion of Dave Burns with Jerome Mahaffey giving the second. The slate passed unanimously.


Good of the Order
Kim Poinsett welcomed the new members and thanked those who attended the annual meeting.

Phil Quinn spoke about a partnership between KICKS96, WCTV, and others to present a program on Internet predators at Centerville High School.

Other board members commented on the positive responses to WCTV’s election coverage.


Adjournment - 12:15 by President Kim Poinsett.

Circle City Public Access

Here's an article from the Indianapolis Star talking about public access possibly returning to Indianapolis. The leader of the group mentioned in this article, Andrea Price, was here at WCTV for our statewide access center meeting and talked about their challenges. When you see that a city the size of Indianapolis doesn't have what Richmond has in terms of public access you can see the potential of what we have here.

And a nice mention of "Iceman on the Move," our 2006 Program of the Year!

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606120365

Feel free to write me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

New website!

Surf over to our sister page, www.wctv.info, to check out our new look and updates! Feel free to send questions and comments to me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

New Officers and Board Members

I wanted to let our viewers and members know that we have elected new officers to our Board of Directors for 2006-2007:

Kim Poinsett, President
Mark Linderman, Vice President
Willard Brown, Secretary
Jeff Plasterer, Treasurer

As well as new board members:

Ed Hoffman (renewal)
Barb Mayberry
Sharon Palmer
Kenneth Paust (renewal)
Billy Porch (renewal)
Phil Quinn
Stephanie Strait

Feel free to email me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

You Shout Out, We Shout Out

G101.3 has been producing a fun little sketch comedy/music video show on WCTV and has been promoting it quite a bit on the air and on their blog. Check it out!

Feel free to contact me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

April 2006 Board of Directors Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by President Kim Poinsett.

Present: Willard Brown, Dave Burns, Ed Hoffman, Daryl Greene, Mark Linderman, Jerome Mahaffey, Eric Marsh, Jeff Plasterer, and Kim Poinsett. Staff: John Dalton, Stephanie Frame, Diane Lucas, and John Schuerman.

Approval of Minutes
The Board accepted the minutes of the February 14, 2006 meeting with the minutes amended to reflect that the board wished to pursue avenues of discounted purchases through IU East before purchasing software upgrades outright. Jeff Plasterer moved to accept the minutes with Mark Linderman giving the second, minutes passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
WCTV has received the quarterly installment payment from the city.
The money in our Silver Eagle account is earning approximately 4% interest at this time.

Director’s Report
John Dalton reported that our “Friends Campaign” has seen a return of approximately 5% thus far and earned about $2,400.
First Bank awarded WCTV a sponsorship of $1500, which will be used to purchase a camera for outreach programs. There are plans for outreach programs with Wernle and the Boys and Girls Club in the works so far.
On April 20th at 1 p.m., WCTV will host a state wide public access meeting to discuss the Indiana Telecom Law, to be chaired by Erik Mollberg of Access Fort Wayne. Board members are welcome to attend.
The Annual Meeting is coming up on April 25th. Meijer is coming on as a sponsor for the meeting. We are still accepting votes for Program of the Year.
John Dalton gave thanks to Dave Burns for all his help with “House Calls.”
WCTV is participating in Mighty U at IUE, with students getting tours and an opportunity to make a public service announcement.
John Dalton is working with IUE Extended Learning to teach some of our courses through their program. This could be another source of revenue for the station.
There was discussion regarding potentially airing “Democracy Now,” a news show. There is an opportunity to get a free dish if we agree to air the news show five days a week. There is also an opportunity to get the first year’s subscription fees to DISH TV waived. After viewing a segment of the program, and after varied discussion, it was agreed to postpone the decision, giving board members time to view additional footage of the program.
John Dalton presented the equipment list request for 2006. The monies come from the Capital Equipment Fund due in June from Insight Communications. The list includes a JVC camera package, 2 Apple G5 computers and a JVC recorder. Jeff Plasterer moved to accept the proposal with Mark Linderman giving the second. The equipment proposal was approved.
John Dalton shared a letter of clarification and apology that he wrote to the County Commissioners about an incident where a volunteer, who portrayed himself as an employee of WCTV, was escorted out of the County Building by law enforcement. Dalton reported that this volunteer has been asked to follow the same rules for scheduling time as other members by not monopolizing or otherwise trying to control access to the edit bay, to limit his personal calls to the station and not to give out the station’s phone number as a contact point, and not to otherwise represent himself, or allow others to believe, he is a WCTV employee. This volunteer was given an opportunity to present a letter to Kim Poinsett prior to the board meeting but elected not to do so. Other discussion indicated that the board will support John Dalton’s decisions in this matter.

Old Business
Kim Poinsett presented the list of nominees for the Board of Directors. The list includes term renewals for Billy Porch, Ed Hoffman, and Ken Paust; and new terms for Sharon Palmer, Phil Quinn, Barb Mayberry and Stephanie Straight. Daryl Greene moved to accept, and Ed Hoffman gave the second. The list of nominees was approved.
Ed Hoffman commented on some programming problems which occurred on the previous Friday evening.

Good of the Order
Dave Burns pointed out the improvement in quality of the Midwest Jamboree and the Dickson Chappell Show.

Adjournment - 12:35 by President Kim Poinsett.

Live from the Kuhlman Center

Amy Leise from Kicks96/WHON reads election results live from the Kuhlman Center as camera person Liz Schwartz gives the cues.

Pre-Production

Stephanie Frame does some last-minute prep on graphics and music from our remote control room at the Kuhlman Center Tuesday night.

From Both Sides of the Aisle

Joe Kayser and Paul Kriese ready to go on live from our remote studio.

Stand By...

We are ready to go live from our remote studio as floor director Barry Barker looks on.

In the Crossfire

Joe and Paul interview a candidate while volunteers Ed Hoffman and Billy Porch man the cameras.

From the Studio

Crew and equipment from our remote location at the Kuhlman Center, bringing live election results Tuesday night.

Mighty U at WCTV

The next generation of television professionals from Vaile Elementary visited the WCTV studio Wednesday .

2005 Volunteer Recognitions

I wanted to thank everyone who attended WCTV’s 18th Annual Meeting on Tuesday. I enjoy getting together with our members and supporters and having the opportunity to discuss our ongoing efforts.

First I would like to welcome new Board of Directors members Barb Mayberry, Sharon Palmer, Stephanie Strait, and Phil Quinn, as well as thank returning board members Ed Hoffman, Ken Paust, and Billy Porch, who renewed their terms for three more years.

I also would like to share our list of 2005 award winners:

Channel 11 Producer of the Year: Daryl Greene for “A Closer Look”

Channel 20 Producer of the Year: Jim Russell and the Richmond High School AV Classes

Channel 21 Producer of the Year: Harlen Whitamore for “Richmond Poetic Society”

Volunteer of the Year: Barry Barker

Program of the Year: James Patterson and “Iceman on the Move”

Feel free to email me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

Telecom Bill Updates

A lot of members and viewers ask me about how the new Indiana Telecom Bill will impact WCTV. The answer right now is that the situation is still evolving. Access Center Directors across the state decided to come together and discuss these issues so that we could share information and present a united front. I offered to host this statewide meeting at WCTV, and the meeting was held here last Thursday with about a dozen people in attendance. We heard from access folks in Fort Wayne, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and other places, as well as a spokesperson from Verizon, recognized as one of the potentially major players in this statewide process. I think it was not only important to have this meeting as part of understanding the Telecom Bill but also to return WCTV to the statewide stage as a premiere access facility. Other access directors were very complimentary about our facilities and operation, making me realizing again that we have an organization here to be proud of.

If you have questions about the Telecom Bill, or anything else, please contact me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

March 2006 Minutes

WCTV BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MINUTES
Tuesday, March 14, 2006


Call to Order - 11:02 a.m. by President Kim Poinsett.

Present: Willard Brown, Dave Burns, Ed Hoffman, Daryl Greene, Jerome Mahaffey, Jeff Plasterer, Kim Poinsett, and Billy Porch. Staff: John Dalton, Stephanie Frame, Diane Lucas, and John Schuerman.

Approval of Minutes
The Board accepted the minutes of the February 14, 2006 meeting as mailed. Dave Burns moved to accept the minutes with Billy Porch second, passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Jeff Plasterer pointed out that most items were within the budgeted amounts. The report indicated some overtime still showing up in January. The overtime amounts should diminish with a full staff on board.
The repair and maintenance contract with Tim Elstro expires at the end of March and will not be renewed as it is. Additional work will be on a specific as-needed basis.
The WCTV money market account will be closed and the Silver Eagle account will be the primary one used.
Ed Hoffman moved to accept the report with Willard Brown giving the second. The Financial Report was approved.

Director’s Report
John Dalton offered information regarding the new Telecommunications Bill. John has offered to host a state meeting involving other public access directors to discuss this bill. There is a potential to lose the capital expense money from Insight in 2008. WCTV will meet with the city to discuss the continuation of money coming from the City of Richmond. John Dalton and the executive board members will work with the city and Insight. John Dalton indicated that even though this may be a “bump in the road,” that there are other possibilities and ideas for funding in the future.
The “Friends Mailing” went out last week with about 500 letters having been sent. As of today, we have received 13 responses totaling a little over $500. David Fulton will record a “Friends” promo for the station to promote the campaign.
The February lottery went well, and we are programming between six and eight hours a day six days a week on Channel 21.
Our Premier Party was successful with 50-75 in attendance.
Last Monday, the Kicks96/WHON news began to air at 10:00 p.m. on Monday-Friday.
WCTV participated in the IT Fair last week at IU East.
John is working with the Wayne County Historical Museum to digitize their old film, in exchange for being allowed to use the footage to produce new “Richmond in Motion” programs.
WIPB and the Indianapolis government channel sent some programs in trade. We currently have MVCC and DATV interested in some programming of ours.
We recorded our first Spanish-language Bulletin, which is a 10-minute filler about legal and medical issues for Spanish-speaking people in Wayne County.
John Dalton asked the board for approval to purchase the Final Cut Pro 5 upgrade for Stephanie Frame’s Mac workstation to make the workstation compatible with the other workstations. He estimated this cost to be about $500. Daryl Greene moved, with Dave Burns giving the second, and the motion passed to approve the expenditure only after pursuing the possibility of discounted purchases through IU East before buying the software upgrades outright.

Old Business
Kim Poinsett asked to suspend the by-laws and have the general meeting on April 25th at 4:00 p.m. Dave Burns motioned with Jeff Plasterer giving the second. The date was moved one month in order to continue developing a slate of officers and a class of board members for next year. The motion passed to have the meeting on April 25th at 4 p.m. in the WCTV studio.

New Business
Daryl Greene mentioned that we should continue to pursue quality issues with the time base correctors.
Jeff Plasterer mentioned that he would like to see WCTV scroll a list of the polling places for the May election, as many have changed locations.


Good of the Order
Kim Poinsette enjoyed the Premiere Party.
Jeff Plasterer mentioned that the board development committee is working towards a maximum number (fifteen) of board members for the new year.
Ed Hoffman and Billy Porch agreed to new terms.
Diane Lucas feels the new brochure is very nice.

Meeting adjourned by Kim Poinsett, Ed Hoffman moved and Jeff Plasterer second to adjourn.


Adjourn - 12:15 by President Kim Poinsett.

A Steady Hand Behind The Camera

Longtime volunteer Ed Hoffman runs camera in the WCTV studio. Ed has done a little of everything since the early days of WCTV and currently serves on our Board of Directors.

Testing, One, Two...

Director John Schuerman and volunteer Ed Hoffman set up microphones for Daryl Greene's "A Closer Look" program.

On The Move...

James "the Iceman" Patterson works in WCTV's edit suite on an upcoming show. The edit suite, which features two machines, is available in four-hour blocks Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

WCTV Annual Meeting

WCTV’s Annual Meeting will be Tuesday, April 25 at 4 p.m. in the WCTV Studio. We will be having a brief business meeting as well as presenting volunteer recognition and producer awards.

This year we will also be awarding a “People’s Choice” for Program of the Year. To vote for 2005 Program of the Year, email wctv@indiana.edu.

And while you’re at it, feel free to request programs from our archives to replay on “WCTV By Request” Friday nights on Channel 21.

I have been getting a lot of requests to resume the video workshops, so we are currently planning a full schedule of training for the coming months. In the meantime, we are still offering “House Calls” to groups who would like our skilled volunteers and professional staff to visit their location and give tips on how to improve the quality of their programs.

Feel free to write me with questions at jodalton@indiana.edu.

February 2006 Board Minutes

WCTV BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MINUTES
February 14, 2006

Call to Order - 11:02 am

Present: Willard Brown, Dave Burns, Ed Hoffman, Daryl Greene, Jerome Mahaffey, Eric Marsh, Ken Paust, Jeff Plasterer, Kim Poinsett, and Billy Porch. Staff: John Dalton, Stephanie Frame, Diane Lucas, and John Schuerman.

Approval of Minutes
The Board accepted the minutes of the January 10, 2005 meeting as mailed. Jeff Plasterer moved to accept the minutes, which were passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Jeff Plasterer pointed out that this is a year-end financial report. The report shows that WCTV operated well within the budget for the year. Now that there is a full staff, there is a need to be aware of the budget in order to continue to operate in the black. Dave Burns moved, and Billy Porch 2nd to accept the financial report. The financial report was accepted.

Director’s Report
John Dalton introduced Stephanie Frame, the new Assistant Operations Director. Stephanie will spend 2-3 hours a day on the head-end operations and 5-6 hours a day on shoots and post-production work.
John Dalton also announced that Johnny Ross, one of our series contributors, passed away recently.
John announced that he hopes the “Friends” campaign letters will go out in the month of February. The list contains more than 500 names. These contacts are not “cold” contacts, but names of people who have had some sort of connection to WCTV in the past. He hopes to add a new brochure in with the mailing, and plans for some on-air promotion.
The Channel 21 lottery was successful with about 12 persons present for the drawing. There are just a few open slots on Saturday. On Friday nights, beginning in March, there are times for some short films and “WCTV By Request.”
Jerome Mahaffey and Tim Scales are preparing new shows. The Faces of IU East show will be returning. An arrangement is being made with KICKS 96 to air their news segments. There have been some program trade-outs with WTIU, Miami Valley Communications Council in Dayton, and Access Ft. Wayne. Viewfinder, formerly a print newsletter, will be a monthly video presentation of about 5 minutes or so.
Mark Linderman and Lena Drew have an interest in working on Spanish language shows and/or announcements.
Our web hosting agreement was up for renewal and we have made an arrangement with Summersault. We are trading a business membership for their web site support.
John Dalton spoke at IU East, Earlham and at an RHS class. He has been talking to the Art Museum and the Historic Museum about future projects.
WCTV will be open four Saturdays during the next two months. The studio will be open from 9:00-5:00 on March 11th and 25th, and April 8th and 22nd.

Old Business
Dave Burns made a ‘House Call” last week and felt that it was very successful.

New Business
Ken Paust would like to see us find a way to communicate all the enthusiasm and activity that is going on at WCTV. John Dalton reported that he has an email list of about 100 names and will continue to send out general updates.
Daryl Greene wondered if WCTV will be represented at the Home Show.
Dave Burns mentioned that an alternate source of revenue would be to do multi disk duplication.

Good of the Order
Kim Poinsette again welcomed Stephanie Frame to WCTV. Daryl Greene noted that WCTV has a lot of momentum at this tine.

Meeting adjourned by Kim Poinsett.
Adjourn - 12:10

In the News

Have you checked out our newscast? The news is on Monday through Friday at 10 p.m. on Channel 21. It is produced through the talented folks at Kicks96/WHON. You can also check it out online here.

WCTV Premiere Party 1

The WCTV Premiere Party Monday night in the studio.

WCTV Premiere Party 2

Some of the spread in evidence before being picked clean by appreciative friends.

WCTV Premiere Party 3

By the end of the night, we had between 50-75 people in the studio.

WCTV Premiere Party 4

Staff, board members, and friends of WCTV enjoy snacks and drinks.

WCTV Premiere Party 5

More friends and family.

WCTV Premiere Party 6

Another picture of me standing by a cake. Maybe it's time to start trying to keep those New Year's Resolutions.

IU East's IT Fair

Stephanie Frame and I hold down the WCTV booth at the IU East IT Fair last Thursday.

"In The Reel" On Location

Michelle and John are two IU East students producing a show called "In The Reel" for WCTV. Here they are, with their puppet host (not a typo!) at IU East's IT Fair last Thursday.

WCTV Mailing List

We currrently have over 100 people on our email mailing list, but there is always room for more! If you would like regular updates on happenings at WCTV (in addition to what is offered here at the blog) feel free to email me at jodalton@indiana.edu and I would be glad to add you.

WCTV Premiere Party!

WCTV’s new “season” begins Sunday, March 5, with several brand-new shows and many returning favorites in new time slots. To kick off the schedule, we will be hosting a Premiere Party in the WCTV studios Monday, March 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. We will offer soft drinks and snacks and the opportunity to mingle with producers and members, as well as see some of our new offerings. We hope to see you there.

This event is sponsored by the IU East Entrepreneurship Center through the support of Chase Bank.

Cuffs

Hey! I'm on Cuffs!

Not the mugshot part that nobody wants to be on, but the interview part people are happy to be on, talking to Aaron Stevens. This show has a great history at WCTV and I think Aaron has done a nice job hosting. There's a solid student crew out at Richmond High School putting it all together. It was nice to be asked to be on and see what goes on out there.

I am also hosting my own show, Viewfinder, which debuted this week. If the name Viewfinder sounds familiar, it's because that was the name of the print newsletter that WCTV used to put out. This is a 21st Century version, a five-minute video newsletter that updates you on everything going on at the station. It will be popping up wherever we have open space in the schedule. If you see it, let me know!

Feel free to write me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

In the Studio

Misty Hollis and Suzanne Derengowski prepare to go on the air for County Connections, as volunteer Ed Hoffman floor directs and runs camera.

In the Control Room

Operations Director John Schuerman gives some final directions to Misty Hollis as Assistant Operations Director Stephanie Frame looks on.

In the Control Room 2

Another look at the control room, moments before giving the cue to start.

WCTV Channel 21 Spring Lottery Results

Here is the official schedule for WCTV Channel 21 beginning March 5:

SUNDAY:
4 p.m. Where Love Shines
5 p.m. First Presbyterian
6 p.m. First English Lutheran
7 p.m. St. John Lutheran
8 p.m. Chapel of Praise
9 p.m. Jesus Healing Ministries
10 p.m. Fairview Baptist
11 p.m. Hope Worth Having

MONDAY:
4 p.m. Esta Escrita
4: 30 p.m. Message of Grace
5 p.m. Harlen
5:30 p.m. Richmond Poetic Society
6:30 p.m. Successful Principles
7:30 p.m. Central Baptist
8:30 p.m. St. Paul Lutheran
9:30 p.m. Glory Bound
10 p.m. Midwest Jamboree

TUESDAY:
4 p.m. Amazing Facts
5 p.m. Faith Baptist
6 p.m. Gallilean Baptist
10 p.m. Christopher Closeup
10:30 p.m. Access to Bluegrass

WEDNESDAY:
5 p.m. Worship with Reid Church
6 p.m. G-TV
6:30 p.m. Richmond Catholic Community Mass
7:30 p.m. Personal Empowerment
8:30 p.m. New Life Church of the Nazarene
9:30 p.m. Joy in Our Town

THURSDAY:
5 p.m. Iceman on the Move
6 p.m. Restoration Outreach
7 p.m. Bab 9 Presents
8 p.m. Kings Highway

FRIDAY:
8 p.m. WCTV By Request

SATURDAY:
5 p.m. First Assembly
6 p.m. Holy Temple
7 p.m. Dickson/Chappel Report

We still have a few time slots available for local series. If you missed the lottery and want to be included, please email me or phone 973-8488. We will take additional series on a first-come, first-serve basis.

WCTV Spring Saturday Hours

Because of requests from producers and members, WCTV will be open on a few Saturdays this Spring!

Please call ahead to reserve space in the edit bays or the studio. We will be reserving up to four-hour blocks.

We will be here:

March 11: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

March 25: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

April 8: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

April 22: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Feel free to email me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

January 2006 Minutes

WCTV BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MINUTES
January 10, 2006

Call to Order - 11:05 am

Present: Kim Poinsett, Dave Burns, Ed Hoffman, Jerome Mahaffey, Willard Brown, Daryl Greene, and Mark Linderman. Staff: John Dalton, John Schuerman, and Diane Lucas.

Approval of Minutes
Board accepted the minutes of the December 13, 2005 meeting as mailed. Dave Burns moved to accept the minutes with Ed Hoffman giving the second, minutes passed.

Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Jeff Plasterer was absent. John Dalton informed the Board that the bids for an annual audit were back. The Board approved Gillam & Zetzel for the audit. Willard Brown so moved, with Mark Linderman giving the second.

Director’s Report
John Dalton announced that after interviewing four candidates, Stephanie Frame has been selected to fill the position of Assistant Operations Director. This position serves as the production assistant, shooting the public meetings, and provides master control at the head end. The normal working hours will be from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.
A Membership Renewal Letter for the entire year will be sent out in February 2006. We may have some on-air spots highlighting the “Friends” campaign.
Underwriting is an idea for future development. There might be a free month of Bulletin Board notices for non-profit and business members followed by a request for underwriting to continue the notices after the free month.
WCTV had 25 hours of Christmas programming during the holidays.
John Dalton is working with Jerome Mahaffey and others on some program ideas for spring. John is working with other access centers to offer a slate of our programs to trade.
John Dalton submitted a grant to ADA Indiana which would allow the Community Council on Disability Awareness to make tapes of “A Closer Look” to distribute. Daryl Greene hopes we can accommodate more closed-captioned programs. John stated that he and John Schuerman are currently tracking closed captioned programs and trying to create an awareness of those programs.
John Dalton did an extensive inventory over the holidays, and also hopes to develop a rate card.
We have begun a trouble log to track head end problems and solutions.

Old Business
At this time, the Marketing and Advertisement Committee consists of Dave Burns and Jerome Mahaffey. A goal is to improve the video quality of shows. Willard Brown indicated that he hoped to encourage quality without expecting producers to purchase additional expensive equipment.
In the spring, John Dalton will begin teaching workshops.
House Calls are something that could help local producers with quality. John Dalton, Jerome Mahaffey, Mark Linderman, John Schuerman, and Dave Burns volunteered to do house calls to help local producers on-site.

New Business
Ed Hoffman hopes to see the membership fees reach $10,000.

Good of the Order
Kim Poinsett thought we had a great Open House in December. Jerome Mahaffey is encouraged by the new programming. Mark Linderman is pleased with the direction we are going. Mark also thanked John Schuerman for his dedicated work. Willard Brown appreciates the Board and wishes the public knew of the Board’s good work. Ed Hoffman sees that WCTV is on the road to better quality programming.

Meeting adjourned by Kim Poinsett.
Adjourn - 12:15

Our Access Friends

I'd like to thank the Miami Valley Communications Council in Dayton and Access Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne for sharing some programming with us. We received a public affairs roundtable discussion on the important Telecom bills from AFW and some media forums from MVCC, including one hosted by Phil Donahue that shows next week. We appreciate these organizations for allowing us to bring greater diversity in programming to the people of Wayne County.

If there are other types of programs you'd like to see, feel free to email me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

Lottery Information, Part 2

Here is some more lottery information for our Channel 21 drawing on Monday, February 13. This information went out to our series producers this week.

Our new schedule begins March 5.

If there are any questions, email me at jodalton@indiana.edu.


Tier One Program Drawing

Reserved only for local producers whose programs take place physically, and are recorded within, Wayne County, Indiana.

Maximum program length is one hour. One program maximum per week in this tier.

Programming days include Saturday through Thursday (WCTV’s programming equipment will not support more than six sequential days of programming per week).

Producer may supply one new program per week, and shall supply at least one fresh program at least every two weeks, to maintain tier one status. Producer shall deliver program to WCTV studios at least one business day before program plays on Channel 21.

Tier One programs will be placed first. Tier One may be expanded at the expense of Tier Two as new local producers qualify for Tier One. Tier One programs always take precedent. As of this drawing, as we maintain one hour maximum per program, there are sufficient hours available to handle historic numbers of programs. However, Tier Two programs are subject to be moved or discontinued if demand for Tier One programming expands to the point that the only way to accommodate Tier One programmers is to shrink Tier Two time, accordingly. Any cancellation may be based on last in, first out. Cancelled programs may be entered in the next lottery.
All assigned hours in Tier One are subject to the luck of the draw. Since programs are either ½ hour or one hour in length, the presiding WCTV lottery official may assign the drawn program to the next practical and available time slot, later or earlier, as applicable.

This drawing will be effective starting March 5, 2006, and programs in Tier One will normally be scheduled for a total of three run times per week, as practical. Original cablecast and repeats are typically at eight hour intervals.

Any program qualifying for Tier One which becomes a part of WCTV programming after the lottery may be placed in any time available until the next lottery drawing.

Tier One programmers -- please check the appropriate box on the return form if you would prefer that your program appears regularly on Sunday. The first random drawing will be for Sunday-preferred time slots in the eight hours between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. until all preferred Sunday hours availabilities are filled. Then, Saturday through Thursday time slots will be randomly drawn and placed in late afternoon and evening hours, as available. In the event that any Sunday hours remain after the Sunday-preferred drawing, they will be drawn for last of all, if it is necessary to accommodate any remaining producers.

Tier Two Program Drawing

Reserved only for programs that take place physically, and are recorded, outside Wayne County, Indiana.

Maximum program length is one hour. Two programs maximum per week, as time may be available. Must have a different local sponsor for each program.

Programming days may include Saturday through Thursday.

All times, repeats, and placements in Tier Two are at the discretion of the Program Director. Original program cablecast and repeats typically are at eight hour intervals for a total of two to three run times per week, as practical.

Producer may supply one new program per week, per time slot, and shall supply at least one fresh program per time slot at least every two weeks to maintain Tier Two status. Producer shall deliver program to WCTV studios at least one business day before program plays on Channel 21.

Other Information

After its cablecast, any program that is judged to have technical problems may be pulled from programming rotation. Possible problems include very low or no audio levels, video images which have tracking problems or static, video images that are too dark or out of focus, and/or other technical problems. The Program Director may suspend the program and future episodes of the program from further cable casting until technical problems are resolved. Please spot check your program before you bring it in to avoid any problems.

WCTV accepts VHS, DVD, and MiniDV.

Welcome Stephanie Frame!

Stephanie Frame, our new Assistant Operations Director, started work at WCTV today. Stephanie is a Northeastern High School and Indiana Wesleyan University graduate. Stephanie brings a good video production skill set with her to assist us in continuing to provide great television services to the local community. Please feel free to stop by the station and introduce yourself to Stephanie, and take a look around the facilities if you haven't been by here in the last few months.

SB 245 and HB 1279

All,

I wanted to make you aware of Senate Bill 245 and House Bill 1279, two bills that have very quickly sped their way through the short legislative session here in Indiana. These sweeping telecommunications reform bills include critical elements for the future of cable access.

The first critical element is that the bills will set up the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) as the franchising agent for cable companies instead of your local government. That means that your local government will have no negotiating power with the cable company, as they have in the past, in ensuring local people would have a voice.

The second critical element is that of franchising fees. The bills are vague about what percentage of these franchise fees would be held by the IURC for their operating expenses, as well as what will be calculated as “gross revenue” in terms of future collection of franchise fees; but some analysts believe these changes will be significant. These franchise fees are a critical part of the operating costs of WCTV, and any losses here would curtail WCTV’s ability to operate as it does now.

The House amended 1279 a few days ago to return franchising powers to the cities, making the bill in direct opposition to the Senate bill, which was passed 40-6.

I have included a number of links below that I have compiled as this story has unfolded. Feel free to read up on this issue and draw your own conclusions. This is an important time to make your voice heard to your legislators if you feel strongly about these issues as well as the future of WCTV.


http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060126/NEWS01/601260477/1006

http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-DJBG1137014237355.html

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/13599497.htm

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/local/13554809.htm

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/13583631.htm

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/13590685.htm

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060123/NEWS02/601230353/1006/NEWS01

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/BUSINESS/601050406

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060110/NEWS02/601100487

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/BUSINESS/601080404

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS02/601050404/1025

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/COLUMNISTS07/601080415/1025/NEWS02

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060112/Opinion02/601120436/-1/OPINION/CAT=Opinion02

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=16330

http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=192843

http://www.citact.org/newsite/

http://www.ai.org/legislative/homepages/R61/media/R61_01172006.pdf

http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2006/IN/IN0245.1.html

http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2006&session=1&request=getBill&doctype=HB&docno=1279

Feel free to write me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

Our Friends at WTIU

We recently received a boxload of documentaries produced by our friends at PBS affiliate WTIU in Bloomington. These include shows on Columbus architecture, legendary coach Branch McCracken, the IU Ballet Theater's staging of The Nutcracker, and more. These programs will begin appearing on WCTV Channel 20 in the coming weeks, and I 'm sure they will be enjoyed by our Wayne County viewers. Thanks again to Brent Molnar at WTIU for sharing their good work with our audience.

Feel free to email me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

WCTV Makes House Calls!

Here at WCTV, we field a steady stream of questions from local producers about tech issues, and get a fair amount of calls from viewers reporting that a program is unwatchable because of video and/or audio problems.
Because of these ongoing concerns, we have put together a group of professional staff and skilled volunteers who are willing to make "House Calls." If you have tech problems or tech questions about producing your local program, or need tech advice on equipment specs or how to start a new program, we are willing to come on-site and help. Please feel free to write me at jodalton@indiana.edu, or call 973-8488 for more information.

MLK Day

It was all hands on deck today covering events for Martin Luther King Day, with important happenings all over the area. I taped Mike Pence's Legislative Forum down at the Leland residence, joining a full house, while John Schuerman taped several other well-attended MLK events. These important programs started airing tonight and will have multiple plays in the coming days. Check your television listings, or call us at 973-8488.

Lottery Update

If you are currently a producer of a local program, you should have received a letter from me by now about the upcoming Channel 21 program lottery in February. If you have not, or you are a new producer interested in having a regular series air in the next cycle of programming, please contact me at jodalton@indiana.edu or 973-8488.

We mailed more than 40 postal letters on Friday to local producers who currently provide programming to WCTV. That shows a great commitment by the community to local programming, and we thank you for your continued efforts and support of community television.

December 2005 Board Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 am

Present: Willard Brown, Dave Burns, Ed Hoffman, Jeff Plasterer, Marilyn Fulton, Eric Marsh, Daryl Greene, Mark Linderman, Kenneth Paust, Kim Poinsett, Billy Porch and Jerome Mahaffey. Staff: John Dalton, Tom Bivens, John Schuerman, and Diane Lucas.

Special Items
Kim Poinsett introduced new board member, Mark Linderman, and the new WCTV station director, John Dalton. Three birthdays were recognized: Ken Paust, Dec. 2; Mark Linderman, Dec. 28; and Marilyn Fulton, Dec. 31st.
Tom Bivens read the resignation of Renee Doty, board secretary. Renee indicated that she felt she had accomplished her goals with the board after seven plus years of service. Her resignation was accepted by the board, and the open position will be filled.

Approval of Minutes
Board accepted the minutes of the November 15, 2005 meeting as mailed. Dave Burns moved to accept the minutes and Ed Hoffman second, minutes passed.

Treasurer’s Report
Jeff Plasterer reported that Gillam & Zetzl currently does the bookkeeping for WCTV. A line item adjustment will move funds into the appropriate fund to pay the bookkeeping charges. Willard Brown moved to accept the move with Dave Burns second. Motion passed.

Following up on last month’s suggestions, Jeff Plasterer reported that our operating reserves would earn a higher rate of interest using a Silver Eagle Account with Wayne Bank. This account is currently paying 3.91% interest. Daryl Greene moved to open a Silver Eagle Account with Dave Burns second. Motion carried.

Updated signature cards for the banks have been signed. Ed Hoffman motioned, with Daryl Green second, to accept the signature cards. Motion carried.

The monthly Treasurers Report indicates that the budget is balanced for the year. Dave Burns moved to accept the budget with Willard Brown second. Treasurers Report approved.

Board Development
Tom Bivens suggested that a Board Development Committee would evaluate current members, look at open spots to be filled, and suggest potential board members. Kim Poinsett heads up this committee with Jeff Plasterer, Daryl Greene, and Marilyn Fulton also serving.


2006 Projected Budget
Jeff Plasterer reported the proposed 2006 budget allows for staff consisting of the Director, two technical positions, and one support position of 30 hours per week. The fund raising amount is reduced to reflect a new and reduced staff and should be easily attainable. Plasterer pointed out that this budget is for a rebuilding year. Daryl Green moved to accept the budget with Dave Burns second. The budget was approved by the board.


In Other Board Discussions
Dave Burns offered food for thought. He suggested seeking volunteers for an ad task force, recommended a classical music channel for channel 21, and asking Dr. Makris for some underwriting.
Ed Hoffman suggested open membership meetings be held more frequently than once a year.
John Dalton announced a Holiday Open House at WCTV on Thursday, December 22nd from 2:00-4:00 pm. All are invited to attend.
John Schuerman indicated that the upgrades at WCTV are essentially completed with some “tweaking” left to do.
Jeff Plasterer thanked Tom Bivens for serving as Interim Director and doing an outstanding job in that capacity. Ed Hoffman moved to extend an opportunity for Tom Bivens to serve as a board member, with Jeff Plasterer second. The motion carried.


Meeting adjourned by Kim Poinsett.
Adjourn - 12:20

The Lottery

An informational letter to our local producers went out in the mail today, explaining some details about the next program lottery. Here is that letter, for those interested:

The next lottery drawing, which will guide us in scheduling programming, will take place February 13, 2006, at 12:05 p.m. in the studio of WCTV.

This letter is to inform you, our producers, about some of the several positive changes in lottery rules which have been recently adopted. These changes will help us in our efforts as we work toward the goal of all of our producers receiving a regular time slot for their program. We are also attempting to provide better times for as many programs as possible.

As they existed until recently, rules for lottery drawings were written during a time of easy placement in the WCTV schedule. We had more times available in those days due to relatively few producers wanting the available time. Now, there literally aren’t enough hours in the programming day, thanks to the large number of producers we currently enjoy.

In the past, we have been forced, in certain instances, to place some programs in somewhat undesirable time slots. Some other programs have had to be inserted as time permitted, not on a regularly scheduled basis, and at a perhaps undesirable time.

As the new rules provide, local programs originating and recorded inside Wayne County, Indiana, will be served first. This means that local programmers will be drawn first, and they will receive a set day and time for the six-month duration of the new lottery. This will enable locals to promote a weekly time and date for their program to their potential audience. Local is also now referred to as Tier One.

At this time in the new rules there should also be space for all other current programmers. Therefore, through the new lottery process, we hope and should be able to accommodate all current non-local programs with a set day and time, too. Non-local is also now referred to Tier Two. Under the new rules, maximum time for any program will be one hour (59:30 actual).

Please watch your personal postal mail for details and a sign-up form to get registered for the upcoming WCTV Channel 21 lottery drawing. The lottery procedure will allow all producers a chance to be entered in the lottery drawings. When you receive the lottery registration form in the next mailing (during the week of January 30, 2006), please complete the registration form and return it to us promptly.

The new schedule will begin the week of March 5, 2006.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of WCTV.

Sincerely,



John Oak Dalton
WCTV Station Manager



If you have questions or comments, drop me a line at jodalton@indiana.edu.

Scenery

Today I passed another deer on my way to the parking lot behind WCTV in the early morning hours. Sometimes it really strikes me--what a beautiful setting to work in, when I get a chance to look out the window.

We are prepping some information to send to our producers about the upcoming program lottery. I will reprint that information here as well, for those interested. We currently have over forty producers in Wayne County contributing regular series to our programming schedule on Channel 21. That's a good number of folks committed to community and the community's voice.

Feel free to email me at jodalton@indiana.edu.

2006

I want to wish our members, friends, and supports a prosperous--and productive--2006. We have a lot of ideas for WCTV in the coming year and I hope we see them all come to fruition.

Feel free to email me at jodalton@indiana.edu.